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Apple Using TSM to Justify 1000 Dollar Phone

Apple and TSM are making a quantum leap over all other phones by having the latest memory, processor and functionality all in one package to justify the 1000 dollar phone barrier. This is not the phone for everyone, but for those with higher incomes this phone will be an investment in being able to do almost everything with just a phone and do it at an advanced level. Incorporating the latest memory, camera, processor, microphones, speakers all at state of the art level in a near bullet proof package will make the new IPhone a very efficient, complete package on a stable platform with literally a staggering number of uses and this will also drive an accessory market in health, entertainment, augmented reality, measurement and a whole host of endeavors that will make life not only more enjoyable and hassle free, but also more productive. The new iPhone will be an investment in work and living that pays dividends in the form of a more efficient, productive, wide ranging life. Apple with their entire platform is not selling a phone, but a better life and TSM is their key partner in making this happen.

Addition:

This phone could actually become a bargain if it becomes the foundation of personal medical devices and medical tracking, your auto interface, entertainment device, work station, stationary and mobile security device, universal interface for almost everything. With the cost of medical it could become a mobile appointment interface. The AR, high quality cameras and mike combined with serious computing power open whole new platforms that need a greater variety of functions that this platform could offer. To view it as even just a smart phone is a mistake.

It's a powerful tool that's a gateway to a very powerful platform that offers numerous ways of being augmented by both software and hardware with new platforms being developed at an astonishing rate in how we relate to the world around us and our own bodies. For those that have the skills and motivation to adopt it, the power and versatility is almost limitless and expanding rapidly. For those that choose not to use it in this manner, it's a waste of money. Those that can't see the pnotential choose to be blind or ignorant. Apple is one of the best if not the best at developing intuitive, bug free systems compared to others, by keeping tight reign on the ecosystem and this is what you pay for. It's an individual choice to buy or not buy it and to use it's potential or not. It can either be a good choice or a bad one and only you can make that decision. Apple stores do have some of the best service and can be of help in that department as well as numerous reviews of the products, platforms and attachments that will come out. Like any tool or possession, if one is not going to use it's potential, don't buy it, but for those that really can use its potential,l it could be a raving bargain. Only an open mind can see.

I'm a minimalist and my wife and I have ZTE Promax phones we paid one hundred dollars for. But in the future it looks like we'll be making the switch to Apple products based on a strict ROI (return on investment) philosophy we adhere to.

I would buy an iPhone 8 Pro for $1k if it had a faster SoC and/or Modem. I do most of my work on my Iphone 6s or iPad Pro now so it would be worth it if there was added productivity. I also like the AR stuff that is coming out so it would need to be a nice AR platform.

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Last edited by Daniel Nenni; 07-05-2017 at 07:47 AM.

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Dan, no I haven't. I feel it's more about the platform and how diverse, intuitive and broad it is. A very key factor is how broad and deep is its adoption in the market place, for even the greatest platform if it doesn't have broad and deep adoption is useless. This is a constant race, that requires even incumbents to be on top of their game. Apple so far is the winner and has maintained that position for a number of years. Their efforts in the self driving area are key, for few have the will or resources to offer the complete package. Medical will be more important than self driving as it is becoming one of most peoples largest expenses and growing to the point it exceeds housing in all but the most expensive areas. Apple's partnership with Kaiser medical is key, for they are the largest assembler/accumulator of data in the medical field. Personally, I'm a minimalist and have a ZTE Promax that currently serves my needs. I see my needs might be changing radically in the next year and Apple so far looks like the winner for my next choice at this point in time. I only buy the technology I need at the time, since the shelf life of any tech is getting shorter and shorter. I have a lot of very expensive tech gear I bought for my business that is now near worthless, but it did more than pay for itself, before it became obsolete. I approach everything, especially technology from an ROI point of view. I see exchange programs taking hold as phones from early adopters, are exchanged and people who don't need top tear buy them as part of numerous cell phone plans, just like used cars.

Also this is a very US-centric view -- in many or most parts of the world medical costs are not such an obsession as they are in the US, and anyway existing high-end smartphones already do pretty much everything people want or need. It's like the PC market, once quad-core CPUs and enough RAM/SSD/HDD space became ubiquitous and cheap, nobody apart from a few geeks worries about PC specs any more so the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest has largely gone.

Once you can't see the pixels any more, having a higher resolution screen is pointless except for bragging rights -- this applies to HDTV as well as monitors and smartphones, so that reason for upgrading has gone. My five-year-old quad-core SSD PC is still doing what I need it to do and I have no plan to replace it any time soon, the same applies to my one-year-old One+3.

If someone *wants* the latest shiny iPhone (or Galaxy, or...) then nobody's stopping them throwing a pile of money at it; just don't confuse "want" with "need"...

When looking at price, one has to consider resale and price decay. A lot of carriers basically have a resale program on refurbished or tested older phones. The true cost is the rate of decay. Even if the phone goes to zero in three years, which it won't, the cost is less than thirty a month. If the phone saves just an hour a month, it has paid for itself for most of us. If it helps improve our health even a negligible amount by being tied into the Apple medical platform, the phone is free. It's all about utilization, platform and increased functionality over the older iPhones and competition. This is not just about the phone, but the Apple ecosystem and the increase in functionality over even older iPhones. This is just basic economics.